Antique Map of Devon by Benjamin Donn 1765

 

Donn's Map of Devon dated 1765

 This magnificent, prize winning wall map on twelve sheets, is available with the separate key map, which is often missing. In 1759 the The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts offered an annual award of £100 for the best original 1 inch to 1 mile county survey. Donn secured the successful entry over Isaac Taylor's map of Dorset. Benjamin Donn was born in Bideford, North Devon and was a mathematician, surveyor and mathematics teacher. Donn's map is graticuled (a graphical depiction of a co-ordinate system as a grid of coordinate curves or lines), has a vignette title, inset plans of Exeter, Plymouth, Stoke Town, and Plymouth Dock and has an inset of Lundy to the top left. He was the first to annotate Burgh Island in Bigbury Bay as Bur or Borough, previously referred to as St. Michael's.

Engraved by Thomas Jefferies, the total size is approximatel 2m (6' 6") square.

 

Key map 

 

 Surveyed from 1759 to Sept. 1763 and published in 1765 in several different formats. Loose leaves on paper, laid on linen and some on velum. All of these formats were available coloured or uncoloured. The engraving was untertaken by Thomas Jefferies. Donn decided to fund the survey and production of the map, which cost around £2000, by inviting subscriptions. By the time the map was published the subscriber's names numbered 528 and 750 subscribed copies were sold.
 

Laid on linen, hand coloured, some creasing and age toning. Each sheet is framed in a narrow black moulding, using UltraView glass and conservation backboard.

Full details here: Antique map of Devon by Benjamin Donn 

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